Short Story
A WINTER WEDDING
‘F
Jan Garner, The Sherborne Scribblers
ebruary, are you joking?’ Her mother stopped peeling the potato and dropped it into the bowl of water. ‘No, I’m not. It’s all booked for 14th at one o’clock. We’ve been down to St John’s and seen the vicar - he’s delighted by the way. He’s never had a wedding on Valentine’s day before.’ ‘Oh but why don’t you wait and have a nice summer wedding, like your sister? That was a lovely day and it turned out just as she wanted.’ ‘Yes, it was fantastic; exactly what Lauren and Stewart had planned. But that’s not what Jamie and I want.’ ‘But it will be freezing; it may even snow,’ said her horrified mother. ‘That’s what I’m hoping for Mum; wouldn’t it be magical if it did?’ ‘Did you hear that, Gregory? Our daughter’s getting married in the middle of winter, and can you believe it; she wants it to snow!’ ‘Well,’ said her father glancing up from his newspaper, ‘I can’t see anything wrong with that. It’s their day after all.’ ‘Thanks, Dad, I knew you’d understand,’ she said as she left the kitchen before her mother could raise any more objections. ‘Trust you to agree with her. She always could wrap you around her little finger. Honestly, though, don’t you think a summer wedding would be much nicer?’ ‘No I don’t,’ he said. ‘Winter was always her favourite time of year, even when she was a small child. Don’t you remember those bitterly cold days when the pair of us stood and shivered as we watched her toboggan down Pitcombe Hill? Her cheeks glowed like shiny ripe apples. She was such a tomboy.’ He looked away, a hint of a tear in his eyes. ‘And I can still picture her fingers, like little red sausages poking through the holes in her gloves as she built a snowman in the garden on one of the coldest days of the year.’ ‘Ah yes, I remember. I thought we’d all freeze to death. But you’re right,’ she conceded. ‘It is their day after all.’ At breakfast the next morning, her mother was full of smiles. ‘Tell me, have you decided what sort of dress you want for your big day Jess?’ ‘I thought something in white velvet with a cloak trimmed with fake fur and instead of flowers the bridesmaids and I could have muffs. What do you think Mum?’ She winked across the table at her father; he’d obviously had a word. ‘Perfect, you’ll look gorgeous love. Just like Julie Christie in Dr Zhivago. And I have been thinking about what I should wear. Would my new winter coat be suitable? Of course I’ll buy some smart new shoes and a posh handbag to go with it.’ ‘Yes, that’ll be just the thing, and perhaps we can find you a nice Cossack-style hat to go with it,’ laughed Jess. ‘And what about your going-away outfit?’ Her mother finished pouring the cup of tea and passed it across the table. ‘You are having a honeymoon, aren’t you?’ ‘Of course we are. We’re going to Norway. I won’t have to dress up in anything fancy there.
126 | Sherborne Times | February 2022
